Unilever Trinidad and Tobago

The origin of the present Company dates to 1929, when two predecessor companies—Trinidad Manufacturing & Refining and West Indian Oil Industries—were established in Trinidad to produce crude soaps and fats using local coconut oil. The London/Rotterdam-based Unilever acquired these two companies in 1948, and eventually merged them to form Lever Brothers West Indies Ltd. (LBWI) in 1964. The factory that stands at Champs Fleurs today was built in 1960, to produce both toilet and laundry soaps, packed margarine and shortening, and bottled cooking oil. Later additions were the powder detergent and liquid plants, as well as a broad-based personal product facility, which has subsequently been closed.

In 2004, Unilever worldwide relaunched its corporate brand and logo and with this came the mandate to adopt the Unilever identity in all local operations. As a result in October 2004, Lever Brothers West Indies became Unilever Caribbean Limited due to a unanimous shareholder vote.

Today, Unilever Caribbean Limited (UCL) operates as part of the Greater Caribbean grouping, with offices in three countries - Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Trinidad, with this Greater Caribbean structure reporting to Mexico. Unilever Caribbean Limited, with just over 400 employees, has responsibility for some seventeen countries in the Southern Caribbean through a network of distributors, and has captured a wide market outside of Trinidad and Tobago by continuing to live up to its mission.